How to Keep a Clean House with Just a Few Minutes a Day

Learn the secrets to having a clean and tidy home without spending all day scrubbing! I’ve got all the tips for how to keep a clean house in just a few minutes a day — even with a busy schedule.

As a mom of 8 kids and a business owner, I know how busy life can be. And how challenging it can be to keep a clean home!

Over the years, I’ve experimented with different schedules, routines, and cleaning to-do lists. And I’ve found that, by far, the best way to keep a clean home is to tackle it regularly throughout the day so the messes never get out of hand.

The best part? It only takes a few minutes a day!

We aren’t talking about spending hours every evening keeping your house sparkling (if that was the case, my house would always be a wreck).

In this post, I’m sharing the ins and outs of keeping a clean, tidy, peaceful home with just minutes a day. I have a daily cleaning checklist to get you started, and you can tailor it to your home, family, and lifestyle!

Why a Few Minutes a Day Works Better Than One Big Clean

If, up until this point, you’ve saved all of your cleaning for the weekend, it probably feels like a huge, time-consuming task that you simply can’t get done.

The beauty of regularly cleaning throughout the day and week is that most of the cleaning becomes about maintaining the existing cleanliness rather than doing a big house overhaul.

If you live a busy lifestyle and don’t have time to spend hours each weekend deep cleaning the house, this method is perfect for you.

A few focused minutes throughout the day can have a bigger impact on your home and mental clarity than one big day of scrubbing everything top to bottom.

How Much Time You Really Need Each Day

You’d be surprised just how much time it actually takes to keep your house clean! When you’re focusing on maintaining rather than doing a deep clean and putting away a week’s worth of stuff, the time investment is much smaller.

How long it really takes will depend on your family size, house size, how much your family is home during the day, and other lifestyle factors.

On average, you can keep the home clean in around 15-30 minutes a day. A few minutes in the morning, a minute here and there throughout the day, and a few minutes dedicated to an evening reset will make all the difference.

Where to Start 

The best place to start when you’re getting into a daily cleaning routine is the areas of the house your family uses the most.

High-traffic areas like the kitchen, bathroom, and main living space are most prone to clutter build-up and other messes.

Tackling these spots will have the greatest impact on how clean the house feels, and will also make the biggest difference in preventing your space from getting out of hand.

The Daily Cleaning Routine, Step by Step

Morning Habits (2 Minutes)

If you did your evening reset (below), the morning routine should be pretty simple. Here’s what I recommend checking off in the morning to set the rest of the day up for success:

• Make the bed
• Put away clean dishes from the night before
• Do a quick kitchen reset after breakfast — load or handwash dishes and wipe counters

Daytime Habits (A Minute at a Time) 

Staying on top of messes throughout the day ensures you don’t end up with too much to do in the evening. It also saves your sanity from the chaos of a dirty house!

• Load dirty dishes after every meal
• Regularly wipe surfaces as needed
• Keep the kitchen and dining room floors swept (if you have littles, this may be a task for every mealtime)
• Tidy up surfaces so nothing gets too cluttered — put away belongings as soon as you’re finished using them

Evening Reset (5 Minutes) 

The evening reset is critical to keeping a clean house. Not only does it give you peace of mind before heading to bed, but it ensures the next day starts out with a clean slate.

• Pick up the whole house — everything goes back where it belongs, and nothing is left out
• Clean the kitchen after dinner — all dishes done, countertops and stove clean, floor swept
• Pick up the entryway (return shoes, coats, and backpacks to their spots)
• Take out the trash

The Natural Cleaning Products to Keep on Hand

One of the keys to keeping up with daily cleaning is to ensure you have good products on hand at all times. Stocking your home with natural cleaners that you know work and feel safe using will remove one barrier to regular cleaning.

If you already have a brand you love, make sure you have them stocked up or ordered on a subscription basis.

If you want to try your hand at homemade cleaners, here are the favorites that I’ll never let myself run out of:

• Homemade Window Cleaner
• Multi-Surface Bathroom Cleaner
• DIY All-Purpose Cleaner
• Homemade Liquid Dish Soap
• Homemade Foaming Toilet Cleaner
• Homemade Toilet Cleaning Bombs
• All-Natural Daily Shower Cleaner

How to Stick to the Routine Every Day

The first step to sticking to a daily cleaning routine is keeping it manageable. If your routine feels daunting or simply takes more time than you have available, it will be quickly abandoned by even the most disciplined person. Figure out how much you can reasonably commit to and be willing to adjust as you go.

One good way to ensure the cleaning tasks are kept up is to incorporate them into your existing routine. While the coffee brews, you can put away the clean dishes from the night before. After finishing your hair and makeup for the day, you know to do a quick wipe-down of the bathroom.

Making a reasonable checklist and working it into your other daily tasks will help you stick to your cleaning plan!

What to Clean Weekly and Monthly

The daily checklist is intended to keep the house in working order during the week, but it will still need some deeper cleaning on a less frequent basis. As you get organized with your cleaning schedule, don’t forget the weekly and monthly tasks.

Weekly

• Vacuum and mop all the floors in the house
• Scrub the bathrooms, including the vanity, toilet, and shower/tub
• Empty all of the household waste baskets (the kitchen should be emptied more often)
• Wipe down the outside of the fridge, stove, and microwave; spot clean cabinets as needed
• Launder all the towels and bedsheets in the house
• Check the fridge for any food that has gone bad and toss it
• Dust surfaces around the house. A homemade dusting spray is great for this!

Monthly

• Deep clean your fridge: Wipe down shelves and drawers and toss old food and expired condiments
• Clean the garbage disposal: Remove and scrub the rubber splash guard, then run a homemade garbage disposal tab through to clean the blades
• Remove your dishwasher filter and clean it as needed
• Check trash cans and clean them as needed (learn how to deodorize a trash can here)
• Clean out the inside of your washer drum and the soap drawer
• Dust ceiling fans and light fixtures
• Wipe baseboards: This can be too great a task for every month, so I like to tackle one room a month to keep on top of it
• Vacuum under couch and chair cushions

A Realistic Routine for Busy Days and Working Parents

You can save this handy checklist on your phone or print it out as you get in the habit of short, daily cleanings! Before you know it, keeping the house clean will become second nature, and you won’t need to look at the list anymore.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Content

• 29+ Natural Cleaning Recipes for the Whole House
• Summer Declutter Checklist (room by room)
• Tips to Keep Kitchen Clean and Organized
• Springtime Cleaning | Simple To-Do List

I hope this post leaves you feeling empowered to keep the house clean without getting overwhelmed or spending time you simply don’t have to spare.

Let me know in the comments what your cleaning routine is like, or share your tips for other busy people who are trying to stay on top of the home!